Griffiths in spot of bother as ten-man Celts held by Accies

Hamilton 1 Celtic 1

A superb strike by substitute Eamonn Brophy gave Hamilton a 1-1 draw against Ladbrokes Premiership leaders Celtic, who played the majority of the game with 10 men.

Hoops striker Leigh Griffiths scored from the spot in the 35th minute after being brought down by Dougie Imrie before Parkhead defender Dedryck Boyata was shown a red card by referee Craig Thomson for a last man tackle on Carlton Morris just outside the box.

In the 65th minute, Accies goalkeeper and skipper Michael McGovern saved a Griffiths penalty after Thomson had penalised defender Ziggy Gordon for wrestling with Celtic counterpart Mikael Lustig at a corner.

Brophy came on for Darren Lyon in the 70th minute and levelled four minutes later with a drive from inside the box for a share of the spoils which took Celtic seven points clear of Aberdeen, who host St Johnstone today.

Celtic retained control without troubling McGovern, however, 10 minutes before the break Griffiths was handed an opportunity to take his tally to 33 goals for the season when he was clipped in the penalty area by Imrie.

There was more drama and some controversy in the 41st minute when Thomson flashed a red card at Boyata after he tackled Morris at the edge of the box as the Accies forward bore down on goal.

Controversy continued when Thomson pointed again to the spot after Gordon had his arms around Lustig at a corner, but McGovern guessed correctly and pushed Griffiths' effort round the post.

The game took another twist moments after Brophy replaced Lyon, an Imrie corner landing kindly at his feet inside the box before he slammed it high into the net.